EDUCATION

DC inaugurates school for slum kids
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 17
The Nishkam Seva Ashram today started a school in Jamuna slums, situated along the Pakhowal canal.

There are around 150 hutments in the area. Since these people live in abject poverty, education always seemed out of their reach. Now residents and their children are hopeful that education will ensure a better life for them.

The school has been started in a hutment. It was inaugurated by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anurag Agarwal, today morning. He gave a grant of Rs 25,000 to the school. The slum-dwellers told him about water problem in the area. “There are no taps in the vicinity and we have to fetch water in buckets,” they said. Mr Agarwal assured them that adequate supply of water would be provided in the area and slaughtering of goats and other animals for meat would also be stopped at the the bank of the canal. He also assured all help for the students who joined the newly set up school.

He appreciated the efforts of the ashram in providing health and educational facilities to the downtrodden. He advised society members to ensure vaccination of children against six fatal diseases and assured government help in the effort.

Mr Swaran Kumar, chairman of the ashram, said 150 students had been enrolled by the school. These included 15 persons for adult education classes. He said they were running a virdh ashram, six day-care centres and a number of schools in slum areas. He said the organisation was also running a TB clinic in Shimla Puri, where 609 TB patients had been registered. Out of these, 275 had been cured and the treatment of the others was going on. The organisation was also running six dispensaries in various colonies, where 38,457 patients had been treated so far. Besides, 38,610 eye patients were checked-up and treated at 136 eye camps organised by the organisation. Mr K.K. Sood, Mr G.D. Bansal and Mr Ahuja (members of the ashram) were also present on the occasion.

Ashok, a six-year-old boy, said education would mean a better life for them. He said, “I want to learn Hindi, English, Punjabi and mathematics as it will get me a job. Then I will live in a simple house that will have water and electricity.” Similarly, two girls, Hirki and Shanta, had stars in their eyes when they said, “Padna achha lagta hai.”

Notice of motion to schools on donation issue
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 17
Taking up a public interest litigation (PIL) with allegations of charging ‘hefty donations and other charges’ for giving admissions to pre-nursery, nursery and LKG classes by five leading CBSE-affiliated city schools, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the issuance of notice of motion to the principals of these school and other respondents returnable by July 3.

The Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Mr Justice B.K. Roy, has ordered to issue notice of motion to DAV Public School, Sacred Heart Convent School, Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Kundan Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, BCM School, Principal Secretary to the Government of Punjab, the Department of Education, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Commissioner of Income Tax (Investigation), Ludhiana, and the Director, Vigilance, Chandigarh, in connection with the PIL filed by the Shiv Sena (Hindustan) through its general secretary, Mr Pawan Sharma.

The petitioner has alleged that the aforesaid schools are ‘running shops’ and making profits by violating the norms laid down by the CBSE. They are allowing admissions ‘solely on the basis of donations’ and ‘not on merit’. No criteria has been laid down by these institutions for giving admissions to children. Only rich parents are can pay such hefty donations for securing admission of their children.

Pointing towards the irregularities committed by these institutions, Mr Sharma has alleged that as per the bylaws of the CBSE, there should be one teacher against the strength of 30 students, but actually a teacher looks after about 60 students. Allegation of charging exorbitant tuition and admission fee has also been levelled in the petition.

“BCM School charges an amount of Rs 400 per year per child. There are about 5,000 students in the school. In this way, an amount of Rs 20 lakh approximately is collected from students every year. As against this, institution pays only an amount of Rs 4 lakh, at the maximum, towards electricity charges to the PSEB”, says the petition.

The matter regarding charging of hefty amounts by these institutions for giving admissions to children in the age group of 3 to 4 years, has also gone before the Punjab Vigilance Department. However, no tangible results have come out so far, the complainant has said.

It has been prayed in the petition that the Punjab Government be directed to streamline the working of these institution and to ensure that the students, in the age group of 3 to 4 years, are admitted on the basis of merit and not on the basis of donations. Directions have also been sought to withdraw these schools’ affiliation with the CBSE.

More land sought for law college
Naveen S. Garewal
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 17
Mr Harnam Dass Johar, Higher Education Minister, Punjab, has announced that the process to arrange sufficient land for the Law College, to be started in the city, has been initiated and a four-storeyed new building of the college would be constructed, where all latest facilities for the students, including a library, would be provided.

A meeting was held here today in Panjab University Extension Library under the Chairmanship of Mr Johar to review the progress in arranging more land for the law college.

Addressing the meeting, Mr Johar informed that the college would be set up keeping in view the requirements of expansion in the coming at least 50 years and more land was being arranged by discussing the requirements with the offices of other departments, including Zila Parishad, PWD and PUDA. The minister informed that in the law classes, which will commence from the next academic session, there will be 70 seats, including 10 reserved for NRIs. For the export management course, which would be conducted in the evening session, 20 seats had been sanctioned.

According to Mr Johar, the arrangement for the classes had been made in the present building of the library to start with and the construction of the new separate building, to be completed at a cost of Rs 1 crore, would be taken in hand shortly. Tenders for this purpose had already been called. He claimed that the building would be completed within a record period of 10 months and the classes for the next session would be held in the new building.

The Higher Education Minister claimed that with the start of the law classes in the city, a long pending demand and an urgent requirement of this region would be fulfilled. Referring to the necessity of the export management course, he said the industrial hub was the most suitable place for such a course, as a major part of the export from the state was being done from this city. The local industry and trade would be substantially benefitted from this course and the trained professionals of the institute would be helpful in promoting the export from the state.

Mr Johar also informed that a new library, exclusively for law students, was also being set up in the Panjab University Extension Library Complex for which funds amounting to Rs 2 lakh had already been sanctioned. He also reviewed the existing facilities in the Extension Library and discussed the problems of the staff.

Mr Malkiat Singh Birmi, State Minister for Housing and Urban Development and Jails, who also attended the meeting, said even though PUDA had already chalked out a plan for commercial development of the area, but still efforts would be made to spare the required land for the Law College after consultation at the departmental level. He said the government was committed to accord top priority to providing excellent infrastructure for the promotion of education.

Mr Anurag Agarwal, Deputy Commissioner, assured that the district administration would efficiently coordinate with the departments concerned to complete the modalities for arranging the land for the college. Mr Rahul Bhandari ADC (G), Mr S.R. Kaler DDLG, Mr Kuldip Singh ACA, PUDA, Ms Bhawna Garg SDM (East) and Mr Jatinder Pal Singh Secretary, Zila Parishad, also attended the meeting.

Parents give reminder to ADC
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 17
The parents’ association which had submitted a complaint to the Additional Deputy Commissioner against Sacred Heart Convent Senior Secondary School, Sarabha Nagar, and DAV Public School, BRS Nagar, accusing them of demanding donations for admissions of children to nursery or KG classes two months ago, has now sent a reminder.

In the reminder, parents have said a strict action must be taken immediately against the school authorities or else middle class parents would never be able to provide good education to their children. They said if the action was not taken at this point of time, the practice would continue. The parents have demanded a probe into the matter.

The parents have requested the leaders of the ruling Congress the opposition and other parties, NGOs, welfare societies, unions and associations to join hands and take up the issue.

Environment awareness campaign
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 17
Staff of the Mai Bhago College for Women, Ramgarh (Ludhiana) organised an environment awareness campaign for the students of Government High School, Ramgarh, under the aegis of the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, Chandigarh.

In a water-testing activity organised on the occasion, water brought from different villages was tested with the help of a kit. Another activity related to ‘vermi composting. Those present on the occasion were told how to prepare nutrient-rich manure that contained 2.5 times more nitrogen than commonly used manure.

CULTURE

Inqalabi Kendra’s tribute to Sukhdev
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 17
A number of plays based on patriotism, sacrifice and bravery were staged in Naughara by the Inqalabi Kendra to celebrate the birth anniversary of martyr Sukhdev in Chaura Bazar, Ludhiana. Among the guests were sisters of Sukhdev, Ms Babli Nair and Ms Surinder. Two nephews, Mr Bharat Bhushan Thapar and Mr Ashok Thapar ,were also present on the occasion. A two- minute silence was observed to pay homage to Sukhdev Thapar who sacrificed his life for the sake of the nation. The Lok Kalan Manch , Mullanpur, under the direction of Rakesh Choudhry, presented a play titled 'Mera Rang De Basanti Chola.' The other plays presented on the occasion were' Hum mehnat kar is duniya mein apna hissa mangen ge' and 'Desh mangda hai qurbani,' ' Dulla Jat Punjab Da.'

The district secretary of the kendra , Mr Kamaljeet Khanna, urged the government to build a memorial in the memory of Sukhdev. Mr Baldev Singh of the Pendu Mazdoor Union, Mr Nirmal Singh, president of the Bharat Kisan Union , Mr Hitin Narayan and Prof A.K .Maleri were present on the occasion.

Techno music blows party lovers
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 17
DJ Richard Stavrou from the UK, DJ Ivan and VJ Yudi had Ludhianvis jiving at the seven-hour-long Smirnoff Experience Nite held at Park Plaza here late last evening.

Stags and gate crashers were disappointed as the crowds swayed into the night to some mind blowing techno music and great special effects. The show kicked off at 8 pm and right from the start DJ Richard built up the tempo and over the next two hours went through various early influences that kept the energy levels of the crowd high.

However, there were anxious moments when one of the young girls fainted and had to be taken for medication by the organisers. The show went on till 3 am. The weary crowd stumbled out to go for a late dinner or just search the way back home. Hot Punjabi numbers played by DJ Bhanu at regular intervals also kept the tempo going.

Despite a record attendance, the security measures by the organisers ensured that the mega event did not witness any untoward incident.

Thai food festival takes off
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 17
Keeping the popularity of Thai food among Punjabis, a Thai food festival started off yesterday at Orient Blade, a Chinese restaurant of Hotel Majestic Park Plaza. The festival will be on till May 31. The decor of the restaurant is reminiscent of the very heartland of Thailand. Cane lamps, straw hats and bamboo fans add to the ambience.

Chef Siddahanshu told mediapersons that Thais like spicy food that goes down well with Punjabis as they savour hot and spicy food too. Thai cooking uses very little oil, but the food is flavoured with typical lemon grass and “gangal” which look like our ginger but have a unique taste. Lemon grass, basil leaves and China grass are some other favourite herbs. Thai cooking uses a lot of red chilli and hot chilli sauces for the curries.

SPORTS

National Club register emphatic win
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, May 17
Harinder Rinku (81), Narinder Saini (42) and Naveen Bobby (3 for 29) enabled the National Club, Doraha, to register an emphatic 116-run victory over the New Friends Club in the 8th Invitation Cricket Cup Tournament at the Punjab Agricultural University ground here today.

The National Club scored 211 runs at the loss of six wickets and then restricted the New Friends Club to 95 runs to score an easy win. Brief scores: National Club, Doraha — 211 for 6 (Narinder Saini 42, Harinder Rinku 81, Vicky (Sr) 21, Money 20, Naveen Bobby 3 for 29 and Jagtar 1 for 35).

New Friends Club — 95 all out (Naveen Joshi 19, Manohar 18, Naveen Bobby 20, Vicky (Jr) 3 for 19, Love Abhlish 2 for 11 and Jeeta 2 for 23).

In the second match, the Hero Club, powered by Sukhpal Singh (76) and Shiva (58) beat the Rana Club by 44 runs.

Brief scores: Hero Club — 209 for 4 (Sukhpal Singh 76 n.o., Shiva 58 n.o., Surjit Singh 33, Mukesh 2 for 27 and Balwinder Patwari 1 for 24).

Rana Club — 165 for 9 (Inderpal Nikka 33, Jagtar Singh 30, Sanjeev Rawat 20, Jassi 17, Sri Kant 4 for 12, Rajiv 3 for 39, Amarjit 1 for 24 and Surinder 1 for 23).

MC Club wins

The Municipal Corporation (MC) Club beat LDCA XI (under 19) by two wickets to record their second successive victory in a cricket tournament at the SD Government College for Boys ground here today.

Batting first, LDCA XI scored 181 runs at the loss of five wickets in the stipulated 25 overs. Karan Goel, who represented India in the International Schoolboys Cricket Championship held at the PAU ground last year, was the main contributor. He scored 72 runs, which included nine hits to the fence. Amrit Rai scored 39 runs.

The captain of the Municipal Corporation Club, Sunil Sharma (29) led his side from the front to surpass the LDCA’s total in the last over. Sunil and Harmeet Batra had a 36-run partnership for the first wicket. Other notable scorers were Rajesh Gandhi and Sidharth Sharma, who chipped in with 29 and 24 runs, respectively.

Brief scores: LDCA XI — 181 for 5 (Karan Goel 72, Amrit Rai 39, Dharminder Rinka 2 for 31 and Raju 2 for 34). MC Club — 182 for 8 (Sunil Sharma 29, Harmeet Batra 36, Rajesh Gandhi 29, Sidharth Sharma 24, Karan Goel 3 for 21 and Rajat 3 for 33).

District chess meet

Gaurav Garg caused a flutter when he defeated top seed and last year’s champion, Ajay Bawa, in the first round of the two-day Ludhiana District Chess Tournament at RS Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, here on Saturday. Seventy-two participants are taking part in the meet which was inaugurated by the host school Principal, Mr M.L. Kalra. At the end of the second round, the following have established lead over others: Diljeet Singh, Ashwani Soni, Rajeev Verma, Sumeet Garg, Surinder Marwaha, Vinod Kumar, B.R. Loomba, Rohit Aggarwal, Harminder Singh, V.V. Gupta, Moondeep Singh, Pawan Tandon, Krishan Kaura and Gaurav Garg.

ADMINISTRATION

Admn starts survey on fire safety
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 17
The district administration has started conducting fire safety surveys to ensure that buildings in town adhere to fire safety norms. This survey has been targeted at basements, especially those of commercial buildings. A team of officers led by Mr Rahul Bhandari, Additional Deputy Commissioner, conducted an inspection of various commercial complexes situated on the Mall Road yesterday.

In all, 17 commercial complexes were inspected by the team. The irregularities have been recorded by officers of the departments concerned.

Mr Bhandari said gross violations of the fire safety rules had been noticed during the inspection. In most buildings, fire safety equipment had not been installed. He said in many complexes, illegal restaurants and shops had been opened and proper entrance or exit points were not available.

He said in the basement of a jeweller’s shop nine persons were found working, while there was only a 2-ft-wide opening for the entrance and exit. The basement had an unauthorised wooden partition and bathrooms were also made of wood, which was dangerous.

In many basements, the electric wiring system was not proper and electric wires were hanging along the walls, which could cause fire.

Some basements, specified as parking places in approved plans, were being used to dump material and vehicles were parked on the sides of the road, hampering traffic.

A restaurant running in one of the complexes had highly inflammable wooden false ceiling which was unsafe in case fire broke out. There were no chances of rescuing people inside the restaurant.

Mr Bhandari said the administration was carrying out a survey of the whole city to identify unsafe and fire-prone commercial and business establishments. He asked the Assistant Town Planner of the Municipal Corporation to prepare a list of the irregularities and violations, so that action could be initiated against defaulters.